Football Brings Summer Heat in Unitec Mt Albert

November 7, 2016

The Semester 2 Unitec Football World Cup was hosted by Unitec Clubs and Sports on Friday 28 October at the Mt Albert Campus sports fields. This semester, eight student teams competed for the coveted title of Unitec Football World Cup champion.

The day was filled with warm weather and high spirits as each of the competing teams took to the field their chance at taking out the top spot. The eight teams were split into two pools, Pool A: New Zealand, Burma, India and Fiji; and Pool B: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Wales, Timor-Leste, and Iceland.

In the Pool A rounds, New Zealand and Burma were first on Field 1, ending their match in a draw. New Zealand won their second game against India but lost their final match against Fiji with 2-1. Although India failed to produce a win on the day, they happily cheered on the sideline in support of the other teams leaving Fiji and Burma to advance to the semi-finals.

On Field 2, the Pool B rounds started with Wales losing their first match to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by one goal, drawing their next game with Iceland 1-all, and a victory against Timor-Leste. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also won their match against Timor-Leste and a draw against Iceland. At the end of the Pool B rounds, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iceland preceded to play their Pool A counterparts in the semi-finals.

The heat turned up during the semi-finals against Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Fiji going head to head the entire game. The two teams going into the penalty shoot-out, with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia coming out the victors. In the second semi-final, Iceland held off against Burma to play in the finals.

All eyes were on the Iceland and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they took the field for the final match. Both teams eager to take out the competition, resulting in a yellow card for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and a last attempt by Iceland to score. At the end of the day, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came out on top and crowned this semester’s Unitec Football World Cup Champions.

Speaking to Azooz, team captain for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, today was a celebratory day, revealing a T-shirt his team made with the words “get well soon” to pay homage to their friend back home recently injured. Iceland was very humble about their loss reflecting on how they enjoyed the day.